It’s been five years since Bong Joon Ho shocked the world by taking home three Oscars, including Best Picture, for his Korean comedy thriller Parasite (2019). His success marked the first time a non-English language film would win the award. Thus, the expectations for his next feature were astronomical.
Now eight feature films into his career, Bong returns to the English language science-fiction works he explored previously with Snowpiercer and Okja, both of which tackle environmental themes and star prominent Hollywood alumni. Given the success of Warner Bros’ The Batman (2022), it makes sense that Robert Pattinson stars in Bong’s latest release, Mickey 17.
Set in the 2050s, the film follows the titular Mickey Barnes as he signs himself to become an ‘expendable’ aboard an intergalactic mission to colonise the ice planet Niflheim. Through this conscription, each time Mickey is killed performing a mission, his body is reborn via a printer, with almost all memories intact. Inevitably, a new alien species, corrupt politicians and further hilarity cause hijinks to ensue.
A Refreshing Sci-Fi?
To get the obvious out of the way, those expecting Parasite are going to be sorely disappointed… at first. The movie leans to comedy, in a manner that resembles Bong’s earlier work, with Pattinson’s off-beat performance as the moronic Mickey weirdly growing on you (even with the silly voice). The encompassing cast of Naomi Ackie as soldier Nasha, Mark Ruffalo as a goofy yet egomaniacal politician and Toni Colette as his equally pompous and psychotic wife each give somewhat over-the-top yet brilliantly stated performances.
Bong’s visuals are also brilliantly understated. The sci-fi flair of a Denis Villeneuve has never been Bong’s style, with the real beauty coming from his choice of framing and his cinematic subtleties, which are explored stunningly here. With practical sets and legitimately convincing CGI (the alien animals are extremely cute), it’s refreshing to see a sci-fi film that doesn’t belong to a feature franchise.
Or A Heavy-Handed Satire?
Bong does struggle however, to keep up with everything in Mickey 17. Beneath its hefty cast and production design, the complex messages of the film get lost amidst one too many plotlines and characters. Characters like Steven Yeun’s Timo feel like afterthoughts who completely disappear from the film’s rather slow second act. Additionally, the heavy handed satire gets especially messy in some of the characterisation, leaving little to the imagination as to exactly who the likes of Ruffalo are supposed to symbolise, a trait Bong’s been guilty of prior (the aforementioned Okja is similarly heavy-handed in it’s messaging) and should honestly be beneath him at this point in his career.
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Still, despite these shortcomings that will undoubtedly have some audience members rolling their eyes, there’s enough heart, humour and thought-provoking ideas in this sci-fi romp to keep the film afloat. I wouldn’t be shocked if we were still talking about Mickey 17, shall we say, 17 years later.